SIT Study Abroad: Madagascar: Biodiversity & Ntrl. Resource

I participated in the Madagascar Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management program in the spring of 2022. I cannot speak highly enough about the program. My cohort consisted of a small group of 5 students with biological and environmental backgrounds. The experience, from start to finish, was a life-altering one to say the least. The Malagasy advisors and program leads were some of the kindest, most caring, and inspiring people I have ever met in my life. They are not only top-level scientists but also incredibly passionate people who are able to manage the difficulties of supporting a cohort of students in a foreign country. The program strikes a wonderful balance of doing the appropriate amount of hand-holding that is necessary to traverse a foreign environment, while still safely pushing us to navigate on our own. When I entered the program it was the tail-end of Covid restrictions. I had very little outdoor experience, had never been so far away from home and was a lost undergrad student unsure of what to do with her life. The program leads supported and pushed me to pursue things I never would have dreamed were possible, and right into my current career. I fell in love with science and Madagascar, and now 4 years later I am still pursuing my passions in both. I cannot emphasize enough how important this program is. If you have any inkling that this program could be right for you, I heavily encourage you to apply. Madagascar is a spectacular country and through this program you will have the honor of discovering it through some of the most qualified and interesting people possible.

This program was amazing, and gave me the chance to see many facets of science and life in Madagascar. My host family was lovely, and they had a bunch of really interesting lecturers, from professors, to NGO heads, to government officials, who covered topics ranging from environmental law to terrestrial and marine biology. You get to travel with the program to the Eastern humid forest and down South to the coast to see really diverse landscapes and ecology. The Malagasy course and my host family got me speaking enough Malagasy to do an internship after the program. Everyone in the program was wonderful especially the Professors, Ando and Alida, and my fellow students. If you are interested, I can't recommend it enough!

The program staff and directors made this experience truly wonderful, as well as the incredible beauty and welcomeness of Madagascar and its people. This program is best for students interested in getting outdoors, exploring nature, and unafraid of getting their boots muddy. French language skills are also very useful - even if just basic enough to navigate the market. Our Malagasy language classes were a highlight, as well as excursions to various national parks with Ando and Alida! The fresh fruit in the country is fantastic, but don’t try to order a burger (Malagasy food in Madagascar is good, but American food in Madagascar is not as good). Get to know Tana - there’s so many cool places you can walk within the city. And try to get out to Lake Itasy - where there’s beautiful beaches and villas that (with our USD) are reasonably priced. Finally, get to know your host family. They are such an incredible group of people, and I feel like I learned so much from my homestay experience. They were so interested in getting to know me, in helping me to know Madagascar, and in just hanging out or having tea anytime! If this program is right for your academic interests, I highly recommend going to SIT Madagascar! There’s really no opportunity like this to see and experience one of the most biodiverse and beautiful places on earth.

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I truly had one of the best experiences in my life in Madagascar. The program was set up so well and the instructors and directors organized everything perfectly. It was a great mix of classroom lectures and assignments and field excursions. I was able to build contacts through this program and return to Madagascar in the summer to do more research. I highly recommend!

In Madagascar, I learned how to express myself in three languages, listen closely, and be open to cultural practices different from my own. The program enabled me to engage directly with the subject matter (Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management) instead of speaking abstractly, build positive relationships, and open myself to new worldviews. Most importantly, the program staff are exceptional! Anecdote: Supported by the nonprofit Planet Madagascar, in spring '24 I camped for two weeks between the rural village of Maevetanimbary and a research encampment in Ankarafantsika National Park, a national park in the northwest. To better understand the impact of fire on forested zones, I compared physical characteristics and species diversity between burned and unburned zones. I wrote a project report and presented my work to the national park’s directors in French. To study natural resource management and the ecotourism economy as a study abroad student and a foreigner is an incredibly complex task. My interactions with local scientists, store owners, and governmental workers; coursework on the Malagasy language and the incredible local biodiversity; and relationships with host families built my ability to engage in a good way in a place far from my home. As such, I am proud of the research I conducted in Anakarafantsika and grateful to have had access to such powerful experiential learning.

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This program is great! The program directors and all the staff are incredible, very kind, helpful, and communicative. I learned a lot, both in and out of the classroom. The internship/ISP portion was also very valuable and fun. I highly recommend this program, it was amazing.

The program staff were wonderful. The educational content and professors were wonderful, world renowned scientists were often invited to speak in lectures. Language and cultural immersion were a big part of our experience and one of the best parts. I've made life long friends in Mada that I still talk with regularly. Field work was immersive and there was the chance to extend our stay in Mada pursuing science (a few of us stayed 6 months). Science wasn't my major (my BA is in French), and this program inspired me to pursue environmental conservation as a masters. I honestly have nothing but good things to say about the program. You won't regret going it's worth every penny. Feel free to whatsapp me if you have any questions @L.mikayla

If you are thinking about enrolling- DO IT! The hands on experience with Madagascar's rich biodiversity gave meaning to my biology degree. I now have expertise in field sampling methods, which has opened doors to new opportunities for me. The professors are amazing, wonderful people who will go out of their way to guide students to success. Staff worked day and night to keep us safe, enriched, and engaged in an otherwise unfamiliar country. After I’ve been to the jungle, I don’t want to go back to the way my life was before. There is so much more to life than living a typical 9-5. Get out there. Do research. And go to Madagascar.

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This program was an incredible way to experience Madagascar. We stayed with two different host families in Tana and Andasibe. We learned how to do different types of study in the rainforest - of lemurs and of plant life - skills are that some students developed further in their independent studies. The independent study was really monumental for me - through which I learned independence, as well as how to conduct an interview-based study. Beyond academics, the 16 of us American students quickly became close - it was so fun to explore Tana’s cafes and nightlife together. This program combines experiential learning and cultural immersion so well — and you will definitely return with more friends than you started with!

This program was incredibly immersive and the faculty and staff were lovely. Everybody that I met was so welcoming and lovely, and Madagascar is a beautiful country with incredibly diverse cultures and ecosystems! As a student in the program, you live with a host family in Antananarivo, within walking distance of the program center, where you take classes. I practiced my French daily, which was a great experience and definitely helped me improve my conversation skills. I also really enjoyed our Malagasy class! I loved the excursions to the eastern rainforest (we saw lots of lemurs!), the southwestern coast (coral reefs!), and being able to complete an independent study project. The ISP was an incredible experience — for my project, I traveled to a protected area and worked alongside a conservation organization to measure the post-fire regeneration of tapia forest fragments (an endemic ecosystem). I also got to interview local communities about their reliance on tapia forest products, such as medicinal plants, fruit, and wild silk. I really appreciated the effort that Ando and the program staff put into helping us figure out the logistics to make our projects possible. Each of my classmates had wildly different ISPs, and it is very much a choose-your-own-adventure program!!

I did the problem last fall and I had a blast. I made a lot of friends on that trip and learned a lot about different cultures, identities, a methods of environmental protection. My only complaints were that sometimes the living situations were uncomfortable, and my class often didn’t feel heard by the administration, when creating changes in plans or important decisions. This only applied to the over arching super attendants, as our local teachers that actually taught the courses were always there for us and we ended up being very close with them. I am happy with my decision to go on this trip, I feel like I had a few bumps, but over all it was an amazing and unforgettable experience that few people get to enjoy. I saw so many places and met so many people, and I truly think I learned more from this experience than my 12 years of schooling.

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This program is run by Ando Rakotoarison, a tireless, friendly and incredibly accomplished scientist. Under Ando’s guidance, I discovered three new species of frogs in the coastal rainforest. I am now a published scientist and have fielded interviews with NPR, BBC, and others. That life-changing experience could not have happened without the mentorship of Ando and the deep immersion in Malagasy culture and ecosystems that this program offers. Madagascar is the most beautiful country on earth, go experience it!

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I had an incredible time during this program. Beyond seeing species I never imagined seeing, like lemurs, chameleons, and even a hedgehog, this trip taught me so much about Malagasy culture and people around the world. Getting to live there with families allowed me to walk in their shoes and see their struggles and joys first hand. One of my favorite nights was our goodbye party at our rural homestay. Everyone danced so hard! Dancing is one of my favorite things to do with people, and it was so special to dance with friends and families on the opposite side of the world from my home.

An incredible experience full of hands-on learning. The staff is incredible: kind, communicative and supportive. Madagascar is beautiful, you will truly never experience another place like it. It opened my mind to new environments and communities. You learn so many practical skills from field work, research writing and giving presentations. You’re joined by other academically motivated peers who you bond with on countless adventures. Choose SIT Madagascar!

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SIT Madagascar continues to be an experience that has helped shape me, and I'd do it again and again. My worldview has expanded, I feel more and more gratitude for who I am and what I have, as well as feel even more of a desire to help others. The entire SIT Madagascar program is an adventure-- from the walk to school to traveling the country, connecting with your peers and building relationships with your homestay family, and to choosing an internship or research project, and spending the last month of your program in the area of your research. Every ounce of this program is laced with opportunity, such as to expand yourself and your understanding of the world, to realize how much more there is to learn about the world, to create lasting connections, and to build mutual understanding. I am a better person for having experienced and complete this program, and so if you enjoy traveling and being outdoors, I encourage you to do this too. Additionally, I completed this program with Cohen Manges, who wrote his review below, and I agree with each of his words. Experienced-based learning is challenging to put into words, but trust us when we say that SIT Madagascar has been a fantastic experience.

I had never traveled abroad before choosing this program and I was worried that I would be completely overwhelmed. This couldn't be further from what happened. After a week I felt incredibly comfortable with my homestay family who were (and continue to be) warm, welcoming, and patient. The staff are incredibly helpful and encourage the students to seek unique opportunities be it in the community, in research, or elsewhere. They'll do whatever they can to make your study abroad experience amazing. Beyond that, Madagascar is a cultural whirlwind with delicious food, amazing community, and natural experiences you won't find anywhere else in the world. The team at SIT Madagascar are experts at guiding you through unfamiliar situations and helping you appreciate what's around as much as possible. I cannot recommend this enough!

This program was one of the best decisions of my adult life, and changed my life. The program directors were excellent, and I felt comfortable going to them for guidance with anything. They were crucial mentors to my college experience and I'm so grateful for their role in the program. The connections I made there were some of the most kind and welcoming and meaningful of my life, and it is my dream to return for work or school or research one day. The science and field work and community engagement was sent valuable to me in deciding what I want to do with my life, and I can't recommend this program more. It is definitely not your typical European study abroad, but it was perfect.

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This was absolutely the most incredible experience I’ve had. Madagascar is a beautiful and welcoming country, and the program directors take you in with open arms. They were there for us through every difficulty and we always felt safe talking to them about anything. Even when we were unfortunately relocated, they stayed on our side and were a comfort in all of the stress. Ando and Alida are also both wonderful biologists, an inspiration to me as a scientist, and taught us so much about everything Madagascar has to offer. I feel so grateful to have been able to witness the diversity and beauty of the wildlife and plants, its magic you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Every day we spend in the forest was easily one of the best days of my life. The food is delicious, the fruit is the best I have ever had, and SIT staff and home stay families make sure we have plenty of food and snacks. The homestays were life-changing. Both of my families were kind and generous and thought me so much about the world and importance of community. Leaving them was very difficult, and I will always be so grateful for being a part of such loving families. While we didn’t get to see as much as we would have, what we did see was amazing. We experienced different towns and cultures and habitats, and were able to participate in immersive cultural experiences throughout. Obviously my program was the one that was evacuated, and while it was very unfortunate because our experience in Madagascar was cut short, I don’t think this is a reason to stop anyone from going. The likelihood of that happening again is slim, and you take a risk anytime you travel. Additionally, while it was a stressful experience, in the end it was incredible either way. Our experience was still fantastic, and as I said our directors were rocks through everything. Overall, this program was undoubtedly worth it and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see and learn about the special wildlife and communities of Madagascar.

This study abroad program has impacted me tremendously. It has been almost two years now since I returned and it remains the coolest thing I have done. I learned so much inside and outside the classroom and experienced so much. The cultural immersion is unlike any experience I have ever had and probably will ever have. From this program I developed an interest in the field I now have a career in and I am so thankful for it. The program was very well organized, despite some of the unpredictability in the country, and homestay families (and their surrounding neighborhoods) were very protective and caring. In many other countries, one can sometimes feel as though the world was becoming increasingly homogenous. I never had this feeling in Madagascar with SIT and I am forever grateful for this experience. Kachow!

In one word, this program was amazing. Madagascar is a beautiful country with rich biodiversity (lemurs sitting on your shoulder, night hikes with chameleons) and rich culture (deep conversations with your host family, the most delicious rice you could possibly imagine). Every day was filled with awe at the beauty of this country, and I was always intellectually stimulated by the guest speakers discussing the relationship between climate change and socioeconomics in the country. I truly feel as if a part of my heart still lies in Madagascar. The personal growth made this program truly worthwhile and has directed my career goals of socio-environmental justice. I plan to return as soon as I can to continue learning from this special place.